


Flannel

by SZRaff



Series: A Pinch of Magic, A Sprinkle of Fate [ Clextober 2019 ] [3]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: 13 Days of Clexa, Clexa Halloween Week, Clextober, Clextober 2019, F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2021-02-08 05:34:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21470872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SZRaff/pseuds/SZRaff
Summary: Clarke and Octavia recover from their encounter at Niylah’s with a little help from Lexa.
Relationships: Clarke Griffin/Lexa, Octavia Blake/Lincoln
Series: A Pinch of Magic, A Sprinkle of Fate [ Clextober 2019 ] [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1522511
Comments: 11
Kudos: 108





	Flannel

Clarke woke from a weird dream. In it she had stood half buried in soil with someone shovelling more and more earth around her. Flies buzzed about her and she tried to swat them away. As she called out, bits of dirt went in her mouth. The shovel caught her on the back of the head and she had jerked awake. Her head pounded and her mouth was dry.

Bleary eyed, with a pounding headache, Clarke looked around to find that the buzzing sound was in fact Octavia snoring beside her; fully clothed on top of the covers with her mouth wide open.

Clarke yawned and stretched, a flood of memories suddenly washed over her.  _ Oh no.  _

She dropped her aching head into her hands and slowly processed what had happened. Some things were a little fuzzy, and some things were crystal clear. One of those things, she realised as she heard the tinkling of movement from outside of the bedroom, was  _ Lexa _ . 

Was it possible to dissolve into a puddle of embarrassment? Because that’s what Clarke wanted to do rather than face the oh so attractive woman outside who she had  _ cried at  _ because she wouldn’t sleep with her.  _ Who does that? _

Clarke wasn’t one to shy away from things she had to do, no matter how humiliating they might be. The least she could do to make up for the colossal cringe of her actions was to make sure she looked better than she felt.  _ Fake it til you make it, right?  _ So she dragged herself to the shower and set about feeling like herself again. Or at least feeling relatively human. The after effects of the potion made her feel almost like she was hungover, and if she pretended that the problem was natural rather than supernatural, then she could drag herself through it.

Ten minutes later, freshly scrubbed and smelling of coconut, Clarke wrapped herself in her towel and pulled her damp hair up into a twist. Octavia was still passed out. Not that Clarke would have cared about getting dressed in front of her regardless.

Despite feeling like utter crap internally, Clarke thought she looked pretty good externally. Blue jeans and a red V-neck. She wasn’t going to over do it with make-up, that would require far too much effort and Clarke was only just resisting the urge to burrow back into her bed. She took a deep breath, opened the bedroom door, and stepped out to greet the awkwardness.

‘Morning!’ Clarke sauntered over to the kitchen counter where Lexa stood making coffee. Frankly, it was unfair that Clarke felt like a zombie and Lexa looked adorable in a flannel fleece-lined jacket. Specifically, Clarke’s flannel fleece-lined jacket. Clarke’s stomach flipped at the sight.

Lexa gave her a questioning look and checked her watch. ‘Clarke, it’s 10pm. You’ve only been asleep for a few hours.’ 

Clarke had no concept of time after the day that she’d had, so she shrugged it off. ‘Evening, then. How come you’re still here? I thought I’d have scared you off with the whole crying thing.’

A small part of Clarke was smug that Lexa almost dropped the cafetiere she held. Clearly she hadn't been expecting Clarke to remember that, let alone bring it up. ‘I, uh, needed to talk to you about something, but that can wait until you’re feeling better. How much do you remember?’

‘Enough to have to apologise for my behaviour.’ Clarke took a mug from the cupboard and the cafetiere from Lexa’s pliant hands. ‘Thank you for not taking advantage of me while I was like that, even when I practically threw myself at you, and for getting Octavia and I back here.’

‘Of course I wouldn’t take advantage of you, Clarke,’ Lexa frowned as if that were obvious. ‘And I can only apologise for Niylah and her potions. Your actions were not your fault - you weren’t in control of yourself.’

Clarke felt the healing powers of caffeine almost immediately. The warmth spread through her as she carefully mulled over her next words. ‘I know, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t still me.’

‘What do you mean?’ Lexa asked quizzically.

‘There’s no point in me denying it,’ Clarke felt butterflies in her stomach. She stared into her mug to avoid looking at Lexa. ‘After my outburst I might as well say it: I find you attractive. Do you feel the same?’

‘I thought I’d been pretty clear about that.’

Clarke looked up, confused.

Lexa had the audacity to roll her eyes. ‘Yes, I find you attractive, Clarke. You actually asked that last night before storming off crying.’

‘Oh,’ Clarke grimaced. ‘My bad.’

‘So,’ Lexa sauntered over to Clarke. ‘Clearly you don’t remember everything from your little trip.’

Clarke desperately tried to remember what else she could have said, already flustered by that damn smirk on Lexa’s lips. ‘Go on, tell me.’

Lexa’s smirk somehow got even more mischievous. ‘Basically you want to see me naked again.’

Clarke covered her face with her hands. ‘Oh God, did I actually say that out loud?

Lexa laughed and carefully moved Clarke’s hands away. Clarke blushed, not least because of how close Lexa was and the fact that she held Clarke’s wrists so gently. ‘No, but as you thought you said it you’ve basically just confirmed that you do.’

Clarke slipped her wrists from Lexa’s grip. ‘You’re such an asshole.’

‘Maybe,’ Lexa raised her eyebrows suggestively. ‘But you definitely said I looked good topless, and I had to bribe you with seeing my tattoos.’

Clarke feigned thoughtfulness, but the image of naked Lexa was firmly back in her mind. ‘You know, I have a vague memory of that.’

‘Oh good.’

‘So are you going to pay up on that?’ Clarke teased, not-so-subtly checking Lexa out.

‘Well, this jacket is incredibly cosy but a deal is a deal,’ Lexa shrugged and began to unbutton it. Clarke could practically feel the electricity between them.

‘Can I get some food before you two start fucking on the counter top?’ Octavia emerged at last from the bedroom. She always had a way of making an entrance.

Clarke jumped in surprise, her face flushed bright red.

‘We - uh, we weren’t about to-’ Clarke spluttered. ‘How are you feeling?’

‘Like shit,’ Octavia groaned. ‘Need food.’

‘Coffee?’ Lexa offered the cafetiere, apparently unfazed by what had just happened.

‘Please.’ Octavia gratefully accepted a filled cup. 

‘I’ve made some pancake batter and you’ve got some bits and bobs that could go with them, if you want me to cook them?’ Lexa looked between the pair. ‘It’s your kitchen after all, Clarke.’

‘Oh my God, yes,’ Octavia retreated to the sofa and keeled over onto it. ‘Clarke, I know she stole your cat and all, but why couldn’t you have found Lexa while we were still in college?’

‘Excuse me?’ Lexa looked questioningly between Clarke and Octavia. 

‘My cat escaped after you left,’ Clarke hoped Lexa would catch on from her explanation. ‘Octavia thinks you stole her.’

Thankfully, Lexa nodded like that made sense. ‘Interesting. But no, I didn’t steal Clarke’s cat, even though she was really cute.’

Clarke avoided Lexa’s eye and changed the subject. ‘Do you remember anything from earlier, O?’

Octavia covered her eyes with her arm and splayed across the sofa. ‘Not really. The last thing that’s clear is having drinks in that little cafe place with the arsey waitress. Then it gets fuzzy. And now my eyes feel like they’re going to fall out.’

Lexa sniggered.

‘So what happened?’ Octavia pulled herself back upright. ‘You and someone else turned up, right?’ 

Clarke panicked, she didn’t want to keep lying to her best friend.

‘You had a bad trip,’ Lexa explained, multi-tasking conversation with cooking like a pro. ‘The Trading Post trades in more than coffee, if you get my drift, and they have a reputation for adding extra shots of their wares to their drinks. You both got laced, but you got the worst of it.’

‘Well shit. I knew I was getting a dodgy vibe. Wait, how come you were there?’

‘I’m a Private Investigator.’ Lexa served up a plate of pancakes and bacon, slid some maple syrup towards Clarke and gestured for her to take it to Octavia. Clarke did so and tried to make it look like she already knew Lexa’s job. That was obviously something they would have talked about if they’d met under normal circumstances. ‘We were there to question the staff and found you two there, high as kites, so I brought you back here.’

‘Woah,’ Octavia looked impressed. ‘Like Jessica Jones. That's pretty cool. Wait, we’re not in trouble are we? We didn’t know about the drugs.’

Lexa waved away her worry with a spatula. ‘You two are fine, don’t stress about it.’

‘So are you reporting the waitress?’ Octavia asked, mouth full of pancake.

‘If only.’ Lexa returned to cooking. ‘Sadly she’s more useful to us where she is for the time being.’

‘How come?’

‘I can’t discuss that,’ Lexa said shortly. ‘It’s an ongoing investigation.’ 

Octavia looked like she wanted to ask more, but thankfully filled her mouth with more pancake instead. Lexa offered Clarke a plate, but kept a tight grip on it when Clarke tried to take it.

‘We still need to talk.’ She said in a low voice. ‘Privately.’

Clarke’s stomach flipped with anticipation, but Lexa looked serious and not at all flirtatious. There were so many things that she could possibly want to talk about given their shared experiences over the past two days, though Clarke really wanted to continue their previous conversation from before Octavia interrupted.

‘Okay.’ Clarke took the plate once Lexa had relaxed her grip, and joined Octavia over in the living room. She didn’t want to seem pushy, but she couldn’t properly speak to Lexa whilst Octavia was there. ‘Does Linc know you’re here yet?’

Octavia shook her head. ‘He’s working late tonight.’ She checked her watch. ‘Actually, he should be finishing soon. I’ll see if he can swing by and pick me up.’ Octavia placed her empty plate down on the coffee table and headed for the bedroom. She stopped in the doorway and pointed between Clarke and Lexa. ‘I’m closing the door but I’m still here, so no funny business.’

‘Go call your boyfriend, O.’ Clarke rolled her eyes.

Clarke could tell that Lexa was waiting for Octavia to start speaking on the phone from the way her eyes flicked to the bedroom doorway while she hovered by the kitchen island. As soon as Octavia started talking, Lexa practically flew over to the window in the living room. 

She pointed at the side jamb of the window. ‘Explain.’

Clarke stared blankly. ‘Explain what?’

‘Come here and look.’ Lexa beckoned. Her eyes were fixed on Clarke as she put her plate down and stepped over to the window. 

‘You’re acting pretty weird, you know?’ Clarke commented as she sidled up beside Lexa. ‘Not as weird as transforming from a cat to a human, but still pretty weird.’

Lexa pointed again at the side of the window. ‘What are these?’ 

Clarke looked closer at where she was pointing but all she could see were some scratches on the wall. ‘What am I meant to be looking at?’

‘These.’ Lexa moved so that Clarke was closest to the window. Lexa had to reach her arm around her to point. 

Clarke still didn’t know what she was meant to be looking at, but her focus was suddenly on Lexa’s warm and close body pressed against her side. It suddenly reminded her of quite how handsy she had been while under the potion’s influence. 

‘Clarke, why do you have protective runes etched into your window frame?’

‘What?’ Clarke leaned closer and squinted at the scratches. At a push she could say they looked a bit like angular letters. To Clarke they still looked like random scratches made by things being placed around the window, except for the fact that they were placed in one line around the window. 

‘These are runes cast for protection from jinxes and curses,’ Lexa explained. ‘This one is specifically to protect against forced entry.’ 

‘Well, I’ve never been burgled through the window,’ Clarke shrugged, ‘so I guess it works.’ 

Lexa threw her hands up in exasperation and stepped away. Clarke immediately missed her proximity. ‘Be serious, Clarke. I’ve checked everywhere I can in this apartment and every point of entry has these runes. How did they get there?’

‘Honestly, I have no idea.’ Clarke felt the beginnings of uneasiness spreading through her at the thought of someone else in her space.

‘Have you been lying to me?’ Lexa questioned. ‘I thought you were a safe choice to break the transfiguration spell because you weren’t magical, but if you’ve lied to me-’

‘Lexa,’ Clarke cut her off with a step forward and a hand on her arm. ‘The only person I know involved with magic stuff is you, I swear. And if you didn’t write these...’

‘Then someone else did.’ Lexa continued her train of thought. ‘Someone you know knows of magic.’

‘But who?’ Clarke sat back down on the sofa and wracked her brain to figure out who it could be. Most of her close friends had been to the apartment, she had hosted a few get togethers with work colleagues, and there had been a few strangers brought back late at night.

Lexa crossed her arms. ‘The good news is: whoever did it obviously cares for your safety so shouldn’t be a threat, and that narrows down the possibilities.’

Clarke shook her head. ‘But who do I know well enough for them to do that for me? And how have they kept the magic thing a secret? Surely if they care about me I know them quite well?’

‘Exes? Family members? Friends you don’t see often?’ Lexa frowned. ‘They don’t have to have magic to draw these runes. The runes imbue a magic of their own, so only knowledge of their use is needed.’

‘I just can’t work out who.’ Clarke suddenly had a thought. ‘Hold on, why were you checking my apartment for runes in the first place?’

‘I was going to put some runes there myself.’ Lexa quickly looked away, her jaw set. 

Clarke didn’t know what to say. She hoped she wasn’t reading too much into what Lexa had said previously.  _ Whoever did it obviously cares for your safety. _ Did that mean Lexa cared for her? 

‘Why?’ Clarke asked quietly. 

‘Obviously because I didn’t want to stay in an unprotected house for another night.’ Lexa replied dismissively.

_ Obviously _ . Clarke could have kicked herself. They’d only known each other for two days and clearly the chemistry and the flirting was just that. Nothing more than physical attraction.

‘Oh. Of course,’ Clarke cut up a piece of her pancake, but she wasn’t hungry anymore.

‘Lincoln will be over soon,’ Octavia announced, emerging from the bedroom. ‘I’m glad you both still have your pants on. So Lexa, what’s the juiciest case you’ve ever had?’

Lexa looked like she would rather be anywhere else, but Octavia was like a dog with a bone when she entered Interrogation Mode. Clarke had known Octavia for long enough to know that Lexa wasn’t getting away without answering her questions, and it turned out that Octavia had a lot of questions for her as she settled back down on the sofa, eyes fixed on Lexa.

Clarke kept quiet and enjoyed the show. She tried not to let her mind wander off, but she kept remembering bits from the potion incident. In particular, Lexa’s hands on her waist, how easily she had picked Clarke up, and how snugly Clarke had fitted against Lexa’s body.

The doorbell made Clarke jump, and Lexa quickly got up to answer the door, probably just to get away from Octavia’s inquisition. Clarke and Octavia pushed themselves up from the sofas to greet Lincoln.

‘Commander?’ Lincoln looked surprised to see Lexa in the doorway.

‘Lincoln?’ Lexa seemed equally as surprised.

‘Commander?’ Clarke wondered at the greeting.

‘Long story,’ Lexa said quickly.

‘You two know each other?’ Octavia looked between the pair. ‘How?’

‘Work,’ they replied in unison. Clarke tried to put the pieces together. Did Lincoln know about magic too? Was he the mysterious rune scribbler?

Lexa stepped aside to let Lincoln into the apartment. ‘I should have realised you were who Octavia kept mentioning. Lincoln’s not a common name.’

Lincoln ducked his shaved head under the doorframe. ‘It’s a small world. How come you’re here? How do you know Octavia?’

Octavia stepped forward and enveloped her boyfriend in a hug. ‘She’s banging Clarke.’

‘O, shut up,’ Clarke hissed. Lincoln looked impressed. 

‘Nice one. You two would be good together.’

Clarke didn’t know what to say; she just opened and closed her mouth and hoped Octavia wouldn’t say anything more mortifying in front of Lexa. So of course, Octavia did just that. 

‘So Clarke, I know you’re busy with work for the next few weeks, but don’t forget about Raven’s Halloween party.’ Octavia gathered her belongings and handed them to Lincoln. He was a very patient man. ‘Lexa you should come too; Clarke always goes as something slutty for Halloween.’

‘Okay, time to go,’ Clarke sprung into action and pushed Octavia out of the apartment. ‘Nice to see you, Lincoln. Drive safe!’ She shut the door in their puzzled faces.

Lexa looked just as confused as they did. ‘What was that about?’

‘Octavia talks too much.’ Clarke hovered by the door. ‘Uh, but if you did want to come to the party that would be okay.’ 

Lexa considered the offer. ‘What kind of party?’

‘Our friend Raven throws a massive Halloween bash every year, it’s pretty fun if you like lethal home brew and DIY pyrotechnics.’

Lexa looked somewhat alarmed. ‘DIY pyrotechnics?’

Clarke chuckled. ‘Raven’s an engineering and chemistry genius, so they’re pretty safe really. She’s just very excitable about things that go boom.’

Lexa looked thoughtful. ‘I guess I should go along then, even if it’s just to make sure nothing gets set on fire.’

‘So you’re a firefighter now as well as a PI?’ Clarke joked.

Lexa shrugged. ‘I could be - PI is only a cover anyway. I can’t exactly put Witch Hunter on a business card. Besides, Halloween is for dressing up and pretending, right?’

‘Sure,’ Clarke tried not to think about Lexa as a firefighter all hot and sweaty. ‘I’ll give you my number and let you know the details. Do you have a phone?’

Lexa rolled her eyes and slipped a smartphone from her jeans pocket. ‘Of course I have a phone. I’m not a Luddite.’

‘Whatever you say,’ Clarke chuckled at her choice of words and tapped her number into Lexa’s phone with jitters in her stomach when she handed it back.

Lexa quickly sent a message. Clarke heard her phone ping from the next room. 

‘You could have just asked for my number, you know,’ Lexa eyed Clarke curiously. ‘You didn’t have to invite me to a party as an excuse.’

‘You are so full of yourself,’ Clarke shook her head, smiling.

‘I’ve been told it’s endearing.’ Lexa tucked her phone back into her pocket and fished out her car keys. ‘And now it’s time for me to go. If you’re feeling recovered and your house is protected, I don’t need to stay over. I’ll check if Lincoln placed the runes; it seems like something he’d do, and it would be a weight off my mind.’

Clarke couldn’t help the disappointment she felt at Lexa leaving so suddenly. ‘What if I said I wasn’t feeling better?’

‘Then I’d say call me if you want me to come back.’ Lexa grinned.

‘You still owe me a proper look at your tattoos,’ Clarke reminded her. ‘You’re not going to get out of it that easily.’

Lexa shrugged off Clarke’s jacket and tossed it back to her. ‘Maybe next time, Clarke. I’ve got to keep your interest somehow.’

The front door clicked behind her and Clarke was left standing in her apartment, holding her still warm flannel jacket, trying to make sense of the chaos of emotions that Lexa caused.


End file.
